City Council majority asks Albany to allow paper state tests in grades 3 to 8

New York City students in grades 3 to 8 could go back to taking their state exams with pencil and paper if Albany agrees to a request now backed by most of the City Council. The request comes only months after the state finished moving those tests online.

Council Member Eric Dinowitz wrote the letter, and more than half of his council colleagues signed it this week. It is addressed to Betty Rosa, who serves as the state’s education commissioner. It asks her to waive the rule that students take the exams on computers. State education officials are now weighing the idea. “The Department is reviewing Councilmember Dinowitz’s request and will have additional information in the coming weeks,” spokesperson J.P. O’Hare said in an email.

Why council members want paper state tests

In the letter, Dinowitz argued that a computer mandate pushes schools toward more screen time and more tech practice at a moment when teachers want to cut back on both. He said parents and educators feel “inundated with screens and big tech in schools” and that he is encouraged the state is taking the request seriously.

The push comes as city schools pull back on classroom technology. This school year the city banned individual digital devices for students from pre-K through second grade and recommended limiting screen time in grades 3 to 8 to 30 to 45 minutes.

City Education Department officials have said the state testing rules played no part in that device policy. A department spokesperson did not immediately say whether the city supports going back to paper exams or would apply for a waiver if one were offered.

How New York moved state exams online

A waiver would be a major reversal for state officials. New York started testing digital exams about a decade ago and made them mandatory this past spring, with exceptions for some students who receive special accommodations. Technical glitches have disrupted the exams more than once along the way.

State officials say online tests are easier to give and faster to score. Because the tests adapt to each student’s skill level, officials say they also measure learning more precisely. Reading scores fell sharply last school year, and some observers have asked whether the switch played a part. There is little evidence that the move online caused the drop.